Quote, insight, action: make customer conversations work harder
A straightforward framework to make sense of fragmented customer conversations.
They say to work smarter, not harder - well, this framework does both.
Founders love it because it's lean, intuitive and - most importantly - action-oriented.
A small note: when saying "customer conversations", I mean potential customers too. I'm omitting it for conciseness, but it's implied throughout. Just in case you were thinking, "Yes, but I don't have any customers yet."
Let's see how it works.
The problem with customer conversations
The main problem with customer conversations is that you need more of them.
An exited founder recently told me:
"If I could go back and change one thing, I'd be having twice the customer conversations I had, and I'd start much sooner."
Even when you have plenty of them, extracting insights feels like looking for gold dust, and you may feel like the feedback you’re getting is pulling you in every direction.
You know there's value in your interview notes. But how do you mine it?
This framework helps you:
Organise your data
Make it useful
Make it actionable
It all starts with a three-column board…
Set up your board
Create a three-column Kanban board using Jira, Notion, Miro, or Figma.
A small tip: use whatever software you're already comfortable with - you'll be more likely to stick with it.
You could use a spreadsheet, but updating and prioritising gets clunky. (That said, if you're an Excel wizard, go for it.)
Label your columns:
Quotes
Insights
Actions
Set up your board so that you can add new cards to each. Cards can move up and down within their columns but not between them.
For the minimalists out there (hello friends!), I use just one single label: “High value”, and use it to mark the most important cards, keeping the board uncluttered.
If you’re more of a maximalist, feel free to add priority scales or status trackers. Just ensure each moving part serves a purpose, and that you don’t overcomplicate it.
The Quotes column
Cards in this column should answer the question: what did the customer say?
Example: I'm developing new design software, and a potential customer says, "I'm concerned about switching to new software and losing my past work."
Take note of key quotes during or just after customer conversations. If you record your interviews, you can use Otter.ai for free, accurate transcription.
Try to keep the original words your customers used. They will be useful one day (namely, on the day when you’ll work on your messaging).
If you’re wondering about volume, a 20-minute interview typically yields 4-7 good quotes. The best ones usually reflect:
Pain points (often in the form of frustrations)
Desired outcomes ( as wishes and aspirations)
Jobs to be done (often articulated as daily tasks and goals)
Let curiosity guide you rather than strict categories, though.
The Insights column
This column answers the question: what insight does the quote conceal?
From our example:
Quote: I’m concerned about switching to new software and losing my past work.
Insight: Customers value seamless integration with pre-existing solutions.
Look for the unspoken needs behind their words and the outcomes that matter to them.
As you progress through your quotes and insights, you'll start noticing patterns and recurring topics. You'll want to mark high-frequency themes and also notice their potential for impact - both on your and your customer's goals.
Actions
Finally, it’s time to determine: what will we do about it?
You’ll immediately notice that not every insight leads to a solution - some need more investigation. That's fine. “understand more about x” or “Research y” are perfectly acceptable actions for this column.
Adding cards to this section is pretty straightforward:
Using our example:
Quote: "I'm concerned about switching to new software and losing my past work."
Insight: Customers value seamless integration with pre-existing solutions.
Action: Research common solutions used by potential customers. Create a 'migrate' function for easy transition. Highlight this outcome in marketing.
You now have actions directly tied to improving customer outcomes.
I like to start with high-impact, low-effort tasks when possible. They’ll help you gain momentum and stay motivated.
Repeat
Keep feeding your system with data from ongoing conversations. Informal chats, structured 1:1 interviews, small focus groups, and even workshops (like this one) are all great ways to keep the conversation going. And the ball rolling.
We’ll soon be adding more resources on having your first customer conversations, so you can feed high-quality quotes into this framework, and get impactful actions as a result. Sign up for our newsletter and we’ll send them straight to your inbox (once a month).
Happy validation!
Alice